This zebra needs a home.

Poisoning

After going through all of the typical tests and some then less common with no answers for what my neurologist was sure was transverse myelitis, she scheduled a meeting with all of the other doctors in her practice to discuss my case. This is when the obscure tests were ordered. Tests my local lab wasn’t quite sure how to handle at first.

The number of vials drawn reached the outpatient lab’s patient maximum, but certainly didn’t exceed my record number. All taken from one threadlike vein in my hand as I’m an impossible draw. A great number of the levels to be checked were for heavy metals like arsenic, lead, copper, etc. The only way an adult ends up with most of those at toxic levels is from intentional poisoning. It struck me as odd that all these doctors were at such a loss that they had to consider my parents were slowly murdering me! I appreciate them thinking outside of the box, though. At least someone has done so on my behalf. And it turns out they weren’t completely off-base.

About two years ago, a toxic level of copper was found in that lab test. My neurologist seemed so caught up in my worrisome symptoms and this went ignored. I can’t even find straight info on specific symptoms of copper toxicity and my neuro-ophthalmologist, like most docs, hasn’t seen Keyser-Fleischer rings since med school and couldn’t be certain (copper begins to deposit around the iris when it reaches toxic levels).

My internist saw me today for our quarterly visit and wrote a script for copper levels to see if they are still indeed at such a high levels in my blood. With my zinc and other naturally occurring metals all perfect, this is a mystery for the neurologist she wishes for me to see asap. I’ve been dragging my feet. Undoubtedly, I’ve been very busy and needing recovery time, but I’ve also made no attempt to schedule this appointment. Now, I have to. I will make the effort for her, if not for myself.

The real poison is this volatile living environment. Even today, I had to deal with a screaming match and two separate tantrums and I was hot involved in any of them, yet somehow dragged in. My heart has been acting funny again and I’m so tense that the jaw problems I haven’t had in nearly a decade are back. I can’t chew and I’m nauseous from fear of something happening here. I’ve woken in the middle of the night a few times recently, in pain and realizing I had barely eaten all day.

I will be out of here by September, or I’ll have to surrender to never living the life I could be. I can’t be forced to swallow any more of this poison.